Widespread Panic sponsors New Orleans home, offers MP3

Widespread Panic, the king of Athens, Ga.'s jam band scene, has taken its groove to New Orleans. The group is sponsoring a house in the Lower 9th Ward through The Pink Project, part of the Brad Pitt-spearheaded Make It Right Foundation. The Lower 9th Ward was one of the hardest-hit areas of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, and it was one of the areas in which the largest number of homes previous to the disaster were owned by the people who resided in them. The Pink Project has entered the Lower 9th Ward and created bright, recognizable placeholders to be converted to new homes by donations, and the Panic is getting involved.

In addition to its own sponsorship, the band is also offering an advance download of "Walk on the Flood" for a $10 donation to be given to foundation. The song is from the band's forthcoming 10th studio album, Free Somehow, which will be released Feb. 12 on the band's own label, Widespread Records. Although it's not the first advance download available from Free Somehow, it is the first to support a good cause. The track is available at LiveWidespreadPanic.com.

The Make It Right foundation set an initial construction goal of 150 homes, and Widespread Panic has accounted for one of them. Other sponsors include The Home Depot, Getty Images and Neighbor Works America.

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